


There's Sunshine in Your Smile

by AngstyZebra



Series: VLD Tumblr Events [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Altean Lance (Voltron), Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bad Puns, Baker Lance (Voltron), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Flirting, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Hanahaki Disease, Human Shiro (Voltron), Hurt Lance (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Language of Flowers, M/M, Misunderstandings, Puns & Word Play
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-15 06:55:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16928589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngstyZebra/pseuds/AngstyZebra
Summary: Shiro is a human from Earth who travels to Altea with his partner, Keith, to discuss making healing pods for human use. He meets Lance there, a handsome Altean baker who stole Shiro's heart at first sight. Or rather... first scent.(Shiro just really loves the smell of Lance's baking. Can you blame him?)But what tragedies will occur when Shiro tries to court Lance without full knowledge of the Altean traditions?





	There's Sunshine in Your Smile

“ _Breaking News - Humans Go To Altea For Healing Pod Improvements_

_King Alfor has requested for some humans to travel to Altea to discuss adjustments to the healing pods for human anatomy. Takashi Shirogane, a doctor well-known for his impeccable diplomatic skills, has past experience in working with alien anatomy and will be traveling to Altea for the job. His two teammates will accompany him, one of which is a technical genius who has studied Altean technology for years. She will be discussing blueprints for the pods with Coran, the Altean in charge of medical advancements for non-Altean anatomy._

_Shirogane’s other teammate is an expert pilot who will be flying them to the planet. He has studied alien cultures in the past and is familiar with Altean customs. He will be working as a translator to explain any misunderstandings, as well as Altean blueprints for the pods. Despite many Alteans being familiar with English, these precautions are being taken just in case._

_Despite many Alteans visiting Earth in the past, and some even living here, few humans have set foot on Altea. There are too many materials required for the healing pod improvements this time. Exporting it all would take too much time, so it will be easier to have these humans stay on Altea for the job._

_The team is estimated to be on Altea for two months and the journey back should take one week. Mitch Iverson notified reporters that...”_

Shiro sighed and closed the news article, setting his tablet on the table to his side. He walked up behind the pilot seat and laid his arm across the back of it. “Keith, how much longer until we arrive?” He was getting tired of sitting there in his uncomfortable armor with nothing to do besides wait.

“Only an hour left.”

Pidge groaned from the back where she was tinkering with a device Shiro didn’t recognize. “This is taking forever! I’m running out of things to mess around with.”

“Like I said, only about an hour left.” Keith called from the front. “You should pack up anything you’re bringing off the ship if you haven’t already.”

Shiro tried to stay calm, but he just _couldn’t_. They were really going to an _alien planet_. “I can’t believe this is really happening.”

Keith looked up at him and smiled. “It’s a dream come true.”

When the team reached the planet, a crowd awaited them in anticipation despite very warm weather. Shiro was sure it would kill him if he didn’t change out of his armor and get into a building with air conditioning soon. The trio stepped out of the ship, and King Alfor was there to greet them along with a crowd of excited Alteans. “Welcome to Altea.” he greeted kindly as he shook Shiro’s hand. “You must be Takashi Shirogane, correct?”

Shiro smiled. “Yes. It’s a pleasure to be here.”

“I’m glad to hear that. And, as much as I am anticipating working on the healings pods with you, please feel free to spend the day relaxing. I’m sure the trip here wasn’t very comfortable. You could even spend the time visiting Lapham if you’d like.” Lapham was the city in which the Castle of Lions was located, and the capital of Altea.

Shiro nodded. “That’s very kind of you, thank you.”

“Let’s head back to the Castle of Lions for now so you can unpack your things and get settled in your rooms.”

When they all arrived at the castle, a woman with long white hair was there to welcome them. “I am Princess Allura of Altea. It is very lovely to meet you all and I hope you will enjoy your stay here.”

“Thank you. I’m sure our time here will be most enjoyable, Princess.” Shiro said.

King Alfor departed from them while Coran, an Altean man with bright orange hair and a strange moustache, led them to their rooms. Keith and Shiro would be sharing a room while Pidge would stay alone in the one next to it. Shiro thought they seemed far too luxuriousfor guest rooms, but he guessed that was probably normal for the royals of such an advanced and elegant planet. Before leaving, Coran said that they would be notified when dinner was ready.

There were many vases with flowers in them on decorative tables in the hallways, giving the place more color opposed to the plain white and grey walls and flooring.

After unpacking and changing into a more comfortable outfit, opting for jeans and a loose fitting grey t-shirt, Shiro decided he wanted to spend the day exploring the city. There was no telling whether they would be able to visit again if they were busy with the pods. Keith declined his offer to join him, opting for exploring the castle instead. Shiro stopped by Pidge’s room to ask if she wanted to accompany him, but she declined. She wanted to take a nap after the long, uncomfortable trip in their small ship. Shiro didn’t mind, it was nice to just spend time alone sometimes.

On his way out, Princess Allura noticed him and approached with a friendly smile. “Are the guest rooms to your liking?”

“Yes, they’re more than enough.” Shiro reassured with a smile.

“Oh, that’s wonderful! Let me or any of the servants know if you need anything.”

“Thank you, Princess. I was just on my way out to visit Lapham.”

“I can assign a guard to accompany you, if you’d like.” she suggested.

“No, thank you. But do you have anywhere in particular you recommend?”

Allura suddenly nodded excitedly. “There is a lovely place in the center of the city with a fountain. The juniberry flowers are blooming wonderfully there right now.”

“That sounds lovely, Princess. I’ll make sure to visit the area. I’ll see you at dinner.”

As Shiro departed from the castle and approached the city, he took note of how futuristic everything looked, like something out of one of his favorite old sci-fi films. But this wasn’t a film, this was real and it was _so much better._ He walked around the town for a while, admiring the shops and smiling at anyone he caught looking at him. He wasn’t surprised, he knew people’s attention would be drawn to him. He has round human ears, after all.

Shiro eventually reached the center of Lapham. He was expecting it to be a nice place, but this was absolutely _breathtaking_. The area was a large open space with juniberry flowers dispersed amongst the soft grass. Families and couples were having picnics there, and children were chasing each other around the white stone fountain in the center of it all. The whole thing made Shiro feel like he was dreaming. He was snapped out of his thoughts by the delicious smell of baked goods. It was the one thing that brought the whole scene together, making it the most magical place in all of Altea.

Shiro turned his head in the direction the scent came from, and spotted a tall white building with blue lights. Well, most buildings in the Lapham fit that description, but there was something different about this place. It could have been the fact that it was in such a beautiful area in the city, or maybe it was the smell. Whatever it was, Shiro wanted to get a closer look. He walked to the front window and read the writing on the glass. “The Lovely Lion” was written in glowing blue paint.

Pictures of pastries were displayed in the window, looking just as good as they smelled. Shiro always had a sweet tooth, and he would be lying if he said eating sweets on an alien planet wasn’t on his bucket list. As soon as the door opened and a customer walked out, Shiro was instantly hit with that wonderful smell again. At that moment, Shiro knew the taste of the treats had to be just as wonderful as their scent. He _had_ to get his hands on one.

 

* * *

 

 

He opened the door and walked in, a bell ringing above the doorway. It seemed very odd for an advanced planet to have something like that, but it gave the place charm. Shiro admired the pictures of sweets hung across the white walls as he made his way towards the counter. The floor was made of black tiles and navy blue booths were against the walls with white tables between them. Despite the sci-fi feel of it all, the place still managed to feel homey and warm. Shiro wondered why there seemed to be so few customers there when the pastries smelled irresistible and the atmosphere was so relaxing.

Shiro reached the counter, and studied the employee there. He was a handsome young man, maybe in his early twenties. His eyes were a gorgeous blue and matched the Altean marks on his face, as well as the sky blue apron he was wearing, which was a mess of flour and smears of chocolate. He wore a white button-up underneath with the sleeves rolled up, revealing his arms in a state similar to his dirty apron. His hair was brown and slightly disheveled, but somehow perfect nonetheless. The most outstanding feature on his perfect face, however, had to be his smile. He had the most beautiful smile Shiro had ever seen. It wasn’t fake or strained; it was wide, genuine, bright, and reminded Shiro of sunshine.

And then he spoke, and his voice could only be described as angelic. “Welcome to The Lovely Lion, where there’s love in every bite!” he said with a wink.

This man had to be the most stunning person Shiro had ever met.

“You’re a human, right? One of the ones who came to work on the healing pods?”

Shiro cleared his throat and smiled. “Yes, I’m Takashi Shirogane. Most people call me Shiro, though.”

The Altean held his hand out. “I’m Lance. It’s a pleasure to meet you, _Shiro_. You know, I was actually in the crowd this morning when you landed. It’s really cool to have you here.”

He took hold of Lance’s hand, bringing it to his mouth and kissing it. “The pleasure’s all mine, Lance.” he said, looking Lance in the eye and winking. Shiro let go of his hand and watched as Lance turned very red very fast.

Where did that flirtatious confidence come from all of a sudden? He couldn’t tell you. But any shame he might have had in his actions disappeared as soon as Lance smirked and leaned on the counter, coming face to face with Shiro. “Do you treat everybody like this, or am I just special?”

“Oh, you’re definitely special.” Shiro found it much easier to tease Lance, now that he was flirting back.

Lance scoffed. “Are all humans like this?”

“Only any human who witnesses a face as perfect as yours. You said you were in the crowd, right? I’m surprised I didn’t see you, for your beauty could stand out from any crowd.”

Lance laughed and pulled away from the counter. Oh no. His _laugh_ was even better than his voice. “Alright, I admit that was good… Hey, do you want to get coffee together after my shift ends? I only have a few minutes left. I mean, unless you’re busy. What am I talking about? _Of course_ you’re busy, you came to work on-”

“I’d love to.” Shiro said, cutting off his rambling. “But are you serious? Would you really like to?”

Lance’s eyes widened and a wide grin spread across his face, then crossed his arms and lifted his chin with a confident look. “Yes, but on one condition. You have to buy something. I’m guessing the reason you came in here wasn’t to flirt with me anyway.”

“Of course, I’ll try anything you recommend.”

Lance walked over to the display case and picked a treat out, bringing it back to the counter on a plate. It was a cupcake with black frosting, decorated to look like a lion.

After paying, Shiro sat down at the booth in the back. He looked down at the pastry and wondered if Lance made this one, or if it was someone else. He picked it up and took the first bite.

There was not a single food on Earth that could compare to the masterpiece he held in his hands at that moment. Before he knew it, the pastry was completely devoured.

He stared down at the empty plate in front of him for a moment before he heard footsteps making their way over to him. Lance stopped next to the table and stood with a hand on his hip. “I’m guessing you liked it?” Amusement was clear in his voice.

“How is that even legal? How is this place not packed right now?”

“You just missed the lunch rush. Trust me, this is the one time in the day we’re this empty.” Lance explained. “You really liked it, huh?”

“I think the feelings I have towards that pastry go beyond ‘like’. Is all Altean food _that_ good?”

Lance laughed at that. “I think it’s just my mom. This _is_ Lapham’s most popular bakery, after all.”

“Your family owns this place?”

“Yup. We live upstairs. I don’t mean to brag, but baking is pretty much in our genes.”

“I think you have more than enough reason to brag.”

Lance let out a breathy laugh. “I’m happy you liked it that much.” Lance picked up the plate. “I’ll take care of this and let my brother know it’s time for his shift, then we can go out for that coffee.” he said before disappearing into the back room. Lance was back only a minute later, looking as if he was trying and failing to hold back a smile. “I’m _bready_ to go.”

“Oh my god.”

The walk to a nearby coffee shop took only a few minutes. The two of them shared a table next to one of the big windows in the front. Like the bakery, it was mostly empty. There was only one other customer there, sitting in the back corner and typing on a laptop.

“You said you live upstairs above the bakery. How much of your family lives there? Does it ever get too crowded?” Shiro questioned.

“I share the place with my mom, dad, grandma, sister, two brothers, and cat. The building is actually pretty wide and has three floors, so it’s not as small as it seems. But maybe I’m only saying that because I’m used to it.”

“I couldn’t imagine living so close with that many people, I don’t have any siblings. So, you have a cat?”

“Yeah, her name’s Blue. You like cats?”

Shiro nodded. “They’re my favorite animal. Why did you name her that?”

“She’s a blue cat… Are cats not blue on Earth?” Shiro shook his head. “Huh.” Lance hummed in thought for a second before grinning. “Maybe I’ll let you meet her, if you come by again and try some more pastries.”

Shiro gave an amused look. “You just want me to spend money there.”

“Maybe. That, and I’d definitely like to see you again. If you’re free. I know you came here for more important reasons-”

“I’d love to.” Shiro interrupted. “You’re right, I did come here for work. But we’ll also be taking breaks. I’ll _make_ time to fit you into my schedule if that’s what it takes. I just really want to eat more of your sweets and pet your blue cat.”

Lance gasped dramatically. “You care more about my cat than me and you haven’t even met her yet. I’m wounded, Shiro.”

Shiro grinned. “But seriously, you’ve been a pleasure to be around.” Shiro’s phone suddenly buzzed. He received a message from Keith saying that dinner would be served soon. “I’m sorry, Lance, but I need to head back to the castle now.”

He could see Lance’s brow furrow and ears tilt a bit downwards. But he put on a smile anyway. “That’s a shame. I’ll see you another time, then?”

“Hey, don’t think you’re getting out of this that easily. I’m still going to walk you home first.”

“Shiro, you don’t have to-”

“I want to. And I won’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”

Lance rolled his eyes. “Romantic, polite, a good sense of humor… What _don’t_ you have?”

“Your number.”

And that line would have worked, if human and Altean phones were compatible.

That night, lying in the oversized guest bed, Shiro thought of Lance. He never believed in love at first sight, but that seemed to be the only phrase that could describe what had happened that day. He felt like nothing could go wrong.

That was the first night in a long time that he was able to sleep through the whole night, the picture of a certain smile in his head distracting him from any nightmares or worries.

 

* * *

 

 

The next day, Shiro’s team discussed pod blueprints with the Alteans. It would probably take a week to get the basics down before they could start actually building them, which meant the first week would be easygoing. The group would be given an hour for lunch each day, which they were welcome to spend at the castle or in the city. Shiro, of course, decided to visit a certain lion-themed bakery in the city for his lunch break that day. He would probably be spending it there everyday if nothing went wrong during his time spent with Lance.

When he reached the bakery and opened the door, he was once again hit with that wonderful smell, as well as the loud chatter of customers inside. It took Shiro by surprise at first, but then he remembered what Lance had said the day before about Shiro missing the lunch rush. Lance wasn’t kidding, it got _very_ crowded.

He walked to the counter where Lance was helping another customer, and watched as he animatedly talked with his hands about some new menu item. The customer left after paying for it and Shiro stepped forward. When Lance saw him, his eyes widened for a second like he wasn’t expecting Shiro to actually come back.

The surprised look was replaced with a smirk and Lance placed his folded arms on the counter to lean closer to Shiro. “Welcome to The Lovely Lion! I’d be _lion_ if I said I haven’t been waiting for you.” he said, once again ending his greeting with a wink.

Shiro let out a breathy laugh. “And I’d be lying if I said I haven’t been anticipating seeing you again.” He watched as Lance’s face heated up but his smile never faltered despite his embarrassment. “Does your shift end the same time as yesterday?”

“Yeah, I’ve still got twenty minutes left. Then you can see my _amazing_ blue cat.”

Shiro’s grin widened. “Until then, I’ll have whatever you recommend for lunch.” Lance introduced a pink soup to him, explaining that it was passed down in his family for generations. After his first spoonful, Shiro completely understood why.

After the lunch rush ended and the place was practically empty, Lance’s brother once again took over his shift as Lance guided Shiro up to the second floor.

“You were right. It’s a lot bigger in here than it looks from the outside.” The place had the same color palette as the bakery below, and Shiro was starting to think any colors aside from blue, grey, and white didn’t exist on Altea. Even though the colors were the same, the place still felt nice and cozy. Lance explained that the kitchen, bathrooms, and family room were on the second floor while their bedrooms were on the third. Shiro couldn’t keep his eyes off of Lance as he rambled on about some silly childhood story that had taken place in the house. He just looked so happy and excited about it and it made Shiro’s chest ache.

“Ah, there you are!” Lance suddenly exclaimed, breaking Shiro out of his train of thought. Lance hurried over to a large window in the family room where a fluffy blue cat was perched on the window sill. Lance picked her up and turned to face him. “Shiro, meet Blue.”

Shiro reached out to let her sniff his hand. Her eyes were a beautiful bright yellow, staring at Shiro before moving to smell him. After a moment, she rubbed the side of her face on the tips of his fingers and he scratched her cheek.

“She likes you! Are you usually really good with animals?”

“I used to have a cat named Pike.” Shiro explained.

“Aww, that’s a good name.”

“Who named Blue?”

“I did.” Lance announced proudly, sticking a thumb towards himself.

Shiro, however, decided to tease him a bit. “Why would you name her by her fur color?”

Lance frowned and crossed his arms. “I’m unoriginal, okay? Besides, I thought it was cute!”

Shiro snorted. “Can I hold her?”

The first week passed like that, meeting Lance at The Lovely Lion everyday for lunch and a chat. The two seemed to never run out of things to talk about, explaining differences between Earth and Altea, reminiscing about their childhoods, and telling each other about their interests. Lance explained that he was living with his parents to work part-time at the bakery while he was in college.

They both loved to read and even had similar taste in books. Shiro enjoyed listening to Lance as he summarized his favorite classic Altean children stories one day. He could never grow tired of that voice.

During the week, they made excellent progress on the healing pod blueprints and had just started physically building them two days prior, earlier than expected. However, they confronted a few technical problems in the beginning. Shiro was stuck waiting for Coran and Pidge to figure it out, not being able to help since it wasn’t his area of expertise. While he waited, Shiro recalled last night’s events.

Keith noticed something was up and had confronted Shiro about it after dinner. “Alright, Shiro. What’s got you so distracted?”

“What? Nothing.”

“Oh, sorry, I mean _who_ has you so distracted? And don’t lie to me, I’ve seen you smiling to yourself when you think nobody is looking.”

The two stood there in silence, staring at each other for a moment before Shiro sighed in defeat. “I… met someone in Lapham the other day.”

Keith raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Tell me everything.”

And so Shiro relayed to Keith everything that had happened. Including a ridiculous amount of time spent describing Lance’s appearance. “I’m telling you, he’s got to be the most gorgeous person in the universe. And his _personality._ Flirty, funny, friendly… He’s got the three F’s, Keith!”

Keith dragged a hand down his face. He had a choice ‘F’ word for Shiro if the Altean’s smile was mentioned _one more time_. “I’m glad you’ve met someone you like, I really am, but you only spent _a few hours_ with the guy since you’ve met him. Besides, you shouldn’t get too attached. We’re heading back to Earth in a few weeks and you’re going to have to say goodbye anyway. You know that, right?”

Shiro had been so lovestruck that he forgot all about the fact that he would eventually need to leave this planet. Leave Lance. Shiro didn’t want that, there _had_ to be a way to stay with him. There had been nobody else who had ever made Shiro feel the way he felt about Lance. He never caught the Altean staring at his prosthetic as most people would, and never treated Shiro like glass because of it either. Quite the opposite, as he teased and made fun of Shiro half the time.

Keith was right, Shiro hadn’t known Lance very long. But if he spent the whole month visiting the bakery every day, maybe they would grow closer. Maybe Shiro would want to stay on Altea. He didn’t have anyone on Earth to go back to except Keith, who was planning on going to Daibazaal to live with his family for a while anyway.

But it all really depended on how far his and Lance’s relationship got before the end of the month. He shouldn’t jump to conclusions just yet. After all, he really _hadn’t_ known Lance as long as it felt.

Shiro broke out of his deep thinking and looked over at the clock, realizing he wouldn’t be able to go see Lance today. It was already late in the afternoon and it didn’t seem like the issue would be fixed anytime soon. Shiro sighed and stood up, “Alright, let’s take a quick ten minute break for lunch today.”

They eventually fixed the problem and were back to working as planned, but Shiro was still a bit down about not being able to see Lance that day.

Then, while eating dinner in the royal dining hall, a plan hatched in Shiro’s mind. After the meal was over, he approached Allura while she was heading out of the room. “Princess, may I speak with you for a moment?”

 

* * *

 

 

When Shiro arrived at The Lovely Lion, he was relieved to find the front door still unlocked despite the sign being flipped to the ‘closed’ side. The bell above the door rang loud throughout the empty bakery, the sound of footsteps following soon after.

Shiro watched as Lance’s mom walked in from the back. “I’m sorry, but we’re closed for-” she paused when she saw him standing at the counter. They had talked many times within the past week and she always treated him like family from the moment Lance introduced him to her.

“Hello, I was wondering if I could see Lance?”

She smiled and nodded. “Of course, I’ll go get him.”

Shiro stood awkwardly while he waited, messing with a loose string on the end of his shirt. Lance arrived only a minute later, grinning as he walked up behind the counter. He was in a pair of white shorts that showed off his long legs beautifully, and an azure t-shirt with some white Altean words on it that Shiro couldn’t decipher. “Look who decided to show up.” Shiro wondered if Lance had been waiting for him earlier that day, and if the remark was a joke or if he was really hurt that Shiro hadn’t visited earlier that day.

“Hey, I’m really sorry about not being here earlier-”

Lance cut him off, “No, you have nothing to apologize for. We never made any plans, you just like to eat here for lunch everyday.”

Shiro’s brow furrowed. “Lance, that’s not the reason I come here, you know that right? I keep coming back because I want to see _you_ … and Blue.”

Lance laughed. “Is that why you’re here now, then? Did you miss Blue too much?”

“I missed _you_ and I wanted to make up for not being able to come here earlier… and I have a surprise for you.”

Lance’s brow raised. “That would make it two surprises, considering I didn’t expect to see you here this late in the first place. What is it?”

The two of them left the store after Lance told his parents that he was going somewhere with Shiro. They had been walking for ten minutes when Lance started to get bored, wanting so badly to see what the surprise was. He had no idea where they were going since Shiro had blindfolded him, wanting this to be as unexpected as possible. They held hands while they walked so Shiro could guide Lance easier, but it also may or may not have been an excuse just to hold Lance’s hand.

Lance groaned dramatically. “Shiro, where are we going?” he whined, dragging out the last word.

“You’ll see, we’re almost there.”

“You said that like five minutes ago.”

Shiro didn’t respond, continuing to walk for a bit longer before stopping. “Alright, this is it.”

Shiro let go of his hand to take the blindfold off and watched Lance as he took in the view with wide eyes and gasped. “Shiro, this is amazing! I haven’t been here since I was a little kid!”

They were at the juniberry fields, where thousands of pink flowers were dispersed among the soft grass. He had asked Allura after dinner if it would be alright to leave the castle for a little while that night. When he explained the situation, she told him about this place, saying it was a popular spot for families to have picnics and stargaze.

“Come on.” Shiro spoke up after a minute, heading towards the center of the hill and laying on the ground there. Lance followed without question, laying only inches away from Shiro. It was easier to see the sky here, no tall buildings or trees in the way. Only hundreds of bright stars and beautiful constellations. “It’s beautiful.” he said quietly, and Lance hummed in agreement.

They stayed there for a long time just whispering to each other while watching the night sky, afraid to speak any louder in fear of disrupting the serenity of it all. They grew quiet after a while, content with just looking at the stars and listening to the sound of the soft wind. Shiro looked at Lance, admiring the way his eyes shimmered in the starlight. He reached his hand out to intertwine their fingers. Lance gasped quietly in surprise and turned his head to find Shiro looking back at him. His face became red as he smiled softly at Shiro before looking back at the sky once more.

And call Shiro a sap, but in his opinion, Lance’s smile was far more beautiful than the night sky above them.

 

* * *

 

 

It’s now been a month since Shiro, Keith, and Pidge arrived on Altea. The pod modifications were progressing very nicely, and things with Lance were going much better than Shiro had expected, to be honest. They were spending almost every day together, having lunch, playing with Blue, going on dates, flirting… ya know, normal interspecies friend stuff.

A few days ago, Lance brought Shiro to a flower shop run by his friend, Nyma. She was born on a different planet, but had lived on Altea for most of her life. Lance brought up The Galaxy Festival, which was a festival that the people of Lapham celebrated once a year, and asked if Shiro would go with him. People from all kinds of planets visited for the event, sharing their customs with others. Shiro had heard of it in the past, but never thought that he would ever get the chance to experience it. The event apparently lasted for a week, with all kinds of games, food, and crafts.

The problem was, Shiro had no idea what this kind of event was like. What should he wear? He didn’t even know if Lance’s intentions behind inviting Shiro had been romantic or not. They never talked about what their relationship really meant to either of them, and Shiro wasn’t totally clear on what Lance wanted.

Shiro decided to go to Allura for advice. About the festival, that is.

He knew he would be able to go because they wouldn’t be working on the pods on the first day of the celebration, since it was such an important event that _everyone_ attended, including the Altean royals. The first day was the second most important, as it marked the beginning of the week-long event. The last day was the most important, because it was the end of the festival and there was supposed to be a fancy ball at the castle that night.

He just wasn’t sure if it was a formal or casual event, or maybe somewhere in between. He had no idea what to wear, or what to expect of the upcoming events.

When he approached Allura on the matter, she gasped and clasped her hands together in excitement. “Oh, you’ve got a date, how wonderful!”

Shiro rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “I wouldn’t call it a _date_. It’s more like… he might have asked me to go with him as friends.”

“ _Might have?_ ” Allura repeated, “You don’t seem so sure of yourself.”

“You’re right. I’m not certain on what our relationship even _is_ at the moment _._ ” Shiro confessed.

“No worries, it will come with time.” Allura assured with a smile. “Now, The Galaxy Festival is casual, but also a tad formal…”

Shiro ended up dressing in some borrowed festival attire from the castle. He wore a long-sleeved white shirt with the sleeves rolled up and collar loose, a blue vest over it, some plain black pants and Hessian boots.

Lance said to meet him in front of The Lovely Lion. When Shiro got there, Lance was already waiting by the door. He let out a prolonged whistle when he saw Shiro. “Looking good, hot stuff! Ready to party?”

Shiro laughed, looking away when he felt his face heating up at the compliment. “I could say the same about you.” Lance looked _great_ , dressed in white shorts with lace, a light purple top with no sleeves, and some simple cream-colored slip-on shoes. Best of all was the jewelry that adorned his wrists and around his neck.

“Yep! I’m sure I’ll be the second best-looking person at the festival, no doubt.”

“Second?”

“After you, of course.” Lance said smoothly, with a wink and finger guns.

Shiro snorted out a laugh and shook his head. “Come on, where to first?”

Lance brought Shiro to a restaurant for lunch somewhere they hadn’t been before, Golden Garden.

“This is the best restaurant you will ever eat at, Shiro. Trust me.”

Shiro cocked his head to the side. “What about The Lovely Lion?”

“That’s the best _bakery_. There’s _obviously_ a huge difference. Restaurants serve full meals for families, groups, and couples while bakeries serve small treats and light snacks.” Lance explained, a bit too seriously in Shiro’s opinion.

Soon after entering the place, Shiro learned that Lance’s best friend, Hunk, worked there. His family actually owned the place, just like Lance’s family and The Lovely Lion. It was that fact which brought them closer together, and the reason why they were best friends.

Hunk was a really nice guy, and Shiro was happy that Lance had such a great best friend. Although, he would be lying if he said he wasn’t intimidated when Hunk told him, “If you hurt him, you’ll wish you never left Earth.” But Shiro understood. He was a stranger from a completely different galaxy hanging out with the guy’s best friend, he had a right to be wary.

After the two of them finished their food at Golden Garden, which really was as amazing as Lance had said it would be, the two travelled to the game stalls. They were very similar to Earth carnival games, like catching fish-like creatures and ring toss.

They began making their way towards the art tents when Lance gasped and ran to a water gun game that caught his eye. “I’m really good at these!” he exclaimed.

There was a backdrop of space and the targets were little moving plastic yalmors, and there was one target in the back of a weblum, which the Altean running the game explained was worth the most points if hit. Lance paid the man and began, astoundingly hitting every single target. The whole performance amazed Shiro, and when Lance jokingly blew off the tip of the game’s water gun as if it were smoking, Shiro made a comment about Lance being his “sharpshooter.” This caused Lance to blush, despite trying to keep up his overly conceited facade.

“Congratulations, I’m very impressed! You may choose any prize you desire.” Lance spent a minute pondering his choices, then pointed to a big black lion stuffed animal. “Good choice!” He said as he handed it over to Lance.

He turned to Shiro then with a wide smile. “It’s for you!” he said, holding it out towards Shiro at arm’s length.

“Seriously? You won it Lance, you don’t have to-”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. I’ve won plenty of these things, I only played to get you one!”

Shiro couldn’t stop the grin forming on his face as he accepted the lion. “Thank you.”

“No problem. Now let’s go, there’s another thing I really wanted to show you.”

Lance took Shiro’s hand for the second time that day, but this time he noticed that the tips of the Altean’s ears grew red as they began walking back in the direction of the art tents.

It was starting to get dark later on after hours of fun festival activities, the street lamps shining down on them as they explored the different tents set up around them. Shiro noticed everyone had begun putting things away for the night when Lance started explaining that the fireworks would begin soon, and that he knew the _perfect_ place to watch them. Shiro absolutely loved his enthusiasm for everything going on with the festival and wondered if this was something important to him and his family.

“Lead us there, sharpshooter.” Shiro had continued to call him that throughout the day after Lance won the shooting game, only because he adored the way he got really embarrassed at the nickname and tried to hide his face.

Lance guided them through the crowd of people and off to a secluded area, then up a big hill. There were others there as well, some with their kids and some simply came as couples. They stopped at a space in the center of the hill and sat down. “Oh, I’m so excited! The fireworks are the best part, you’re going to love it!”

Just then, the first whining sound of a firework shooting off sounded throughout the city for a few seconds before bursting in the sky and showing off an array of warm colors, many more following soon after. They painted the sky in all sorts of combinations, making the scene before them look as if it was a dream come to life.

Shiro looked over to see Lance smiling up at the fireworks and whispering in a soft voice, “Beautiful.”

“Yeah.” Shiro quietly responded, but he wasn’t talking about the fireworks. He was looking at Lance. Shiro reached out to cup his face with his human hand then, guiding the Altean’s gaze to him, and learned forward to bring their lips together.

In that moment, Shiro discovered that the only thing better than seeing Lance's charming smile was kissing it off his cute face.

 

* * *

 

 

Shiro’s heart hadn’t stopped pounding even long after he had gotten back to the castle, because _Lance kissed him back._

“Dude, what’s up with you?” Pidge asked, eyebrow raised, after catching sight of him when he returned to his and Keith’s room. They seemed to be talking about something before he walked in.

“Let me guess.” Keith said, obviously trying to hold back the growing grin on his face, “Something happened with Lance. Something _good_.”

Shiro winced at that. “Is it that obvious?”

“Only because you’ve been talking about him non-stop ever since you met him.” Pidge chimed in teasingly. “And your face is really red right now.”

“Wha- no, it’s not.” Shiro tried to defend, lamely.

“It totally is.” Keith agreed. Shiro groaned before sitting on his bed and sliding his borrowed shoes off. “So, what happened?” Keith pestered.

“Shiro looked at him for a moment before sighing and giving in. “I kissed Lance tonight… and he kissed back.” He looked over at the two, who seemed to be a bit surprised, before continuing, “I just… _really_ want to show him how much I care about him. I want him to know that, even when it’s time to leave Altea, this whole thing actually _meant_ something.”

The room was silent for a minute before Keith thought of something. “Why don’t you get him flowers? They’re really important to the Alteans’ culture.”

Shiro’s face lit up at the idea. “ _Keith_ , why didn’t you tell me that before?”

“You should’ve asked? You know I studied alien cultures in college. It’s one of the reasons I’m on this trip in the first place.”

“He probably forgot.” Pidge said with a smirk. “You know, being distracted by the cute new alien and all.”

Shiro shot her a glare, knowing she was right and not wanting to admit it, but then remembered something. “Oh, also… You know how there's a ball at the end of the week?” He waited for nods of confirmation before continuing, “I want to ask him if he'll go with me, but I'm not sure how I should go about it.”

“Easy, give him the flowers when you ask him.” Keith responded.

“But what if it comes off too strongly?”

“Shiro.” Pidge said in an annoyed voice. “You two _kissed_ tonight. I'm positive that you'll be fine.”

He sighed. “Alright. I'll ask him tomorrow.”

Shiro left the castle early the next morning to get Lance some flowers at Nyma's shop. It was close to The Lovely Lion, near the fountain in the center of Lapham.

Nyma recognized him as soon as he walked in. “Shiro, what brings you here?” she asked kindly, but surprised to see him.

“I want to get some flowers for Lance.” He said shyly.

Nyma raised a brow and rested a hand on her hip. “Want some suggestions? I've known Lance for a long time and I might be able to help.”

Shiro shook his head. “Thank you for the offer, but I think I need to do this alone.”

“So serious.” She teased in an amused tone. “But if you're really set on making him something original, you could pick some flowers from the garden out back and make your own bouquet.” She pointed to a wall of a variety of paper, plastic, bows, and ribbons, all for wrapping the flowers in to make bouquets. “No need to pay, either. I'll call it a little discount for Lance's new _friend_.” She ended with a wink.

He laughed a bit awkwardly, “Thank you.”

“No problem. I'll just be fixing up some things around the shop. If you need any help, feel free to ask me anything at all.”

Shiro nodded and made his way to the back of the shop, where a beautifully painted door stood with designs of flowers and vines on it. He opened it and was met with an incredible sight before him. The garden was full of flowers from all across the color spectrum, some of the petals in shapes and patterns he's never seen on Earth. Shiro walked around the stone path, examining the bushes and trying to find the right ones. It had to be perfect, only the best for Lance.

Just then, something caught Shiro's eye. He approached the patch of yellow carnations, remembering what he had thought when he first met Lance.

_His smile reminded Shiro of sunshine._

The flowers were a bright yellow like the sun and were just… perfect.

Shiro carefully picked the flowers, gathering them up in his hand in a bundle. He walked back into the shop and over to the wall of bouquet items. He decided on wrapping the stems in blue paper, to represent the sky. He added a yellow ribbon around it, tying it into a bow.

Shiro wasn’t sure where Nyma had gone off to, and opted to leave a note on the counter in thanks for her help instead. After that, he hurried out of the shop and towards The Lovely Lion. People seemed to be giving him strange looks, almost seeming disgusted.

But Shiro just shook it off and blamed it on the nerves of going to ask Lance to the ball.

Shiro opened the door to that familiar ringing from the bell hanging above it, making sure to hold the bouquet behind him so it would be a surprise. He noticed that Lance was at the counter when he walked in, and quirked an eyebrow at Shiro before turning back to the customer he was helping. Shiro stood behind the Altean, waiting impatiently as he was filled with both excitement and nervousness. Nobody else was in there, probably because it was still early, and the morning rush would be coming in within the next hour or so.

The customer finally left a couple of minutes later, leaving the two of them alone. “What brings you here so unusually early?”

Shiro grinned. “Oh, nothing much. I just wanted to give you…” he pulled the flowers out from behind his back then, extending them towards Lance, “these.”

A terribly dejected look formed on Lance’s face as he shakily took the bouquet from Shiro’s hand. The silence was beginning to scare Shiro, and just before he could open his mouth to ask what was wrong, Lance spoke quietly. His voice sounded fragile, like he was about to cry, and it broke Shiro’s heart.

“Get out.”

“What? I thought-”

“Get out!” he yelled, harshly throwing the bouquet at Shiro. “And take these with you!”

Shiro paled, trying to wrap his head around what happened, but he just _couldn’t understand_ what he had done wrong. “Lance-” He tried to reason, but Lance just interrupted him again.

“Just leave already!”

So he did.

 

* * *

 

 

It was hard to make Shiro cry. The last time he did was when his cat died a few years back.

Right now, he could feel his eyes start to sting.

“What did I _do_?”

When Shiro had gotten back to the castle, Pidge saw him and was beginning to explain something to him about the pods. She stopped herself when she noticed the disheveled flowers in his hand and disheartened look on his face.

Now he was in one of the castle's many lounges with Keith and Pidge, just finishing up his explanation on what went down at The Lovely Lion only a few hours prior.

“Are you sure you told us everything?” Keith asked.

“ _Yes_.” Shiro said loudly, letting out a pitiful whine and slouching over to burying his face in his hands.

He may or may not have been doing that just to hide the tears that were beginning to form.

Allura walked in then, taking in the scene before her. Keith and Pidge were sitting on the couch on either side of Shiro, who sat with his head in his hands, looking utterly defeated. What worried Allura most of all was the bouquet of yellow carnations laying on the coffee table. “Would anyone care to tell me what… _those flowers_ are doing in the castle?”

“Shiro got them for some cute baker but was rejected. It doesn’t seem like he did anything wrong, according to his side of the story at least.” Pidge explained.

Allura stood there, eyes impossibly wide with a stunned look on her face. “You have _got_ to be joking!” she exclaimed.

Shiro looked up, startled at her suddenly raised voice. “Is there something wrong with them?”

Allura folded her arms across her chest and glared at Keith. “I thought you studied Altean culture!”

“I did!” he said, panicked. “Did I forget something important?”

“Obviously!” Allura sighed, exasperated at the entire situation. “I apologize, I shouldn’t have yelled. But this is just absolutely ridiculous.”

“I’m sorry, too.” Keith said, “Please, enlighten us on the issue.”

“First of all, are any of you aware that flowers in our culture have special meanings?”

Keith frowed. “Yeah, I’m sure I heard something like that.”

“Well, are you aware that some flowers have _bad_ meanings?”

It clicked at that point for all three of them. “... I gave him bad flowers, didn’t I?”

Allura nodded. “These might even be the _worst_ choice you could have gone with, as they mean ‘rejection’. Why did you even choose these ones, specifically?”

Shiro groaned. “Because they’re yellow and his smile reminds me of sunshine.” Shiro mumbled, embarrassed.

Keith facepalmed and Pidge laughed at the cheesiness of it. “Dude, that’s so lame. But all he has to do is go explain the situation, right? Everything will be fine.”

“Shiro, how long ago did this incident take place?” Allura asked.

“A few of hours ago. Why?”

“You see, Alteans can get an illness called Hanahaki Disease. It’s when extreme heartbreak causes flowers to grow in the person’s lungs to the point of coughing them out with blood and… well, dying of suffocation.”

“What?! Do you think Lance has that?”

“He might, if he really is interested in you. No worries, though, it takes weeks of not being treated to get that bad. However, if he does have it, he may be in lots of pain right now. I suggest you get over there and explain everything to him immediately. I’ll call for an escort.”

By using one of the castle’s speedy carriages, Shiro reached the bakery in record time after quickly picking up some apology flowers, purple hyacinths. He hopped out and rushed inside, thankful that it was a slow time and not many customers were around. Hunk was talking with Lance’s sister, Veronica, who was behind the counter.

“Hunk, do you know where Lance is?”

When he noticed it was Shiro, Hunk crossed his armed, a protective look on his face. “He’s too sad to come into work, thanks to _you_.” He stepped forward and jabbed Shiro in the chest with his finger. “He’s got Hanahaki and might have to go to the hospital if it gets worse. You piece of-”

“Wait, just let me explain, please!”

Hunk huffed out a laugh, tears in his eyes. “You better have a good explanation for this. Go on then, what is it?”

Shiro quickly clarified what had happened, about not knowing The Language of Flowers and the meaning behind yellow carnations. He ended his explanation by holding up the purple hyacinths. “Do you understand now? It was all just a big misunderstanding.”

Hunk nodded after a moment. “Come on, I’ll take you to his room and you can tell him.” The minute-long walk up to the third floor felt like an eternity, Shiro’s heart pumping almost too fast in his chest.

The two of them arrived at the door of Lance’s room, Hunk raising his hand to knock. He gave the door a few taps, but the two were only met with silence. He knocked a bit harder and faster then, calling out his name. “Lance, buddy, it’s me. Can I please come in?”

Instead of a verbal response, the sound of rough, violent coughing sounded from the other side of the door. Hunk wasted no time opening the door, worried for his friend.

The sight that welcomed them was beautifully horrifying.

Shiro and Hunk wasted no time in rushing to Lance’s side when they saw the scene before them. Lance was curled up on the bed, yellow carnations falling from his mouth and dropping onto the bed, followed by blood. Too much blood. “Holy crow, there wasn’t this much the last time I checked up on him!”

When Allura explained that Lance might begin coughing up flowers due to Shiro’s mistake, he didn’t expect it to get this bad so fast. On top of that, it _really hurt_ to see that they were the same flower that started this whole mess.

Hunk sat down on the mattress behind Lance and rubbed his back comfortingly. “I told you to tell me if it got worse…” he lightly scolded.

Shiro knelt in front of the bed to get to Lance’s level, coming close to the sickly face of the man he loved. He reached out with uncertainty at first, and ran his hand through Lance’s sweaty bangs to brush them out of his face.

Lance finally opened his eyes at that, looking up to Shiro with a confused expression. “Why are you here?” he asked harshly, yet far too weak.

Shiro felt a pang of guilt hit him at that. “Lance, I really like you. I didn’t know anything about the Language of Flowers and I didn’t know what those flowers meant, but now I do. I am _so sorry_ , and I hope you can forgive me.

Lance’s eyes widened then in disbelief and realization. “Shiro… _I’m_ the one who’s sorry. I didn’t even think that you might not know about all of that. _Of course_ , you’re not even from here. I’m such an _idiot._ ”

Shiro brought both of his hands up to cup Lance’s face, kissing his forehead in reassurance. “No. _I’m_ the one who’s sorry, love.” He turned to grab the bouquet that had been abandoned on the bed next to Lance’s form.

Purple hyacinths.

_Asking for forgiveness and deep regret._

“Please forgive my ignorance, Lance.” Shiro said as he held the bouquet, taking one of Lance’s hands in his to kiss it gently. Just like he did when they first met.

“But Shiro-”

“Alright, alright.” Hunk interrupted. “You’ve both forgiven each other, now can we _please_ get Lance to a hospital now? Because _holy crow_ , you coughed up a lot of blood.”

Lance let out a weak laugh at that. “Don’t worry, Hunk. Love is the best medicine, and I’ve just been given a dose.”

Shiro laughed, but Hunk wasn’t having any of it. “Lance, that’s sweet and all, but I’m calling an ambulance.”

 

* * *

 

 

Shiro arrived at The Lovely Lion the next evening. Despite the tragic events that took place just the day before, Lance still agreed to going to the ball with Shiro. “ _Pick me up at seven on the dot, and not a second later!”_ he had ordered, jokingly.

Shiro walked inside, bouquet in hand for Lance. It was a combination of yellow tulips and forget-me-nots. They were both wearing outfits similar to those they wore to the festival, but it was still heart-stopping to see Lance dressed like _that_. “Oh, Shiro! Looks like you’re right on time, ready to go?”

Shiro nodded, holding out the bouquet. “Yes. And, uh… I got these for you.”

Lance took them, quiet for a moment before laughing. “Shiro, you’re so cheesy and I absolutely _adough_ it.” He snickered an leaned in to give Shiro a quick kiss on the cheek in thanks. “I’ll go put these in some water, and then we can go.” Shiro rolled his eyes at the pun.

He really hoped Lance understood the meaning behind that bouquet. Forget-me-nots meant ‘true love’. And yellow tulips…

“ _They’re often associated with having a great smile.”_ was what Nyma had told him.

Shiro felt his face heat up at his embarrassment over the whole thing. “This is going to be a long night.”

The ball was a bit awkward since Shiro never had much experience with dancing, and not knowing any traditional Altean dances on top of that. But Shiro was surprised to find that he wasn’t actually as terrible as he thought he would be. They decided to take a break for some drinks, standing side-by-side at the back of the huge ballroom.

“Hey.” Lance nudged Shiro’s shoulder with his own. “Why don’t we get out of here? It’s starting to feel a little too crowded.”

Shiro nodded in agreement. “Alright, where to?”

“I know a place close by. Come on.” Lance said, pulling Shiro off to the nearest exit before even finishing his sentence.

Lance guided him to a beach behind the castle where one of Altea’s moons was shining beautifully over the water. “You like going to the beach?” Shiro asked.

“I _love_ it. I do have a little bit of mermaid blood in me, after all.”

Shiro wondered for a second whether that was a joke or not, then just shook his head and made a mental note to ask about it later. “Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve brought you here for one of our dates.”

Lance seemed to grow a bit redder at that before letting go of Shiro’s hand and picking up his pace, abruptly sitting down on the sand a few feet from the water. “Well, we’re here now. Why don’t you come over here and cuddle me, Mr. Romantic?” Shiro scoffed, but couldn’t contain his fond smile for the younger man. He sat next to Lance, wrapping an arm around him.

The couple stayed like that for a few minutes in content silence, Lance’s head resting on Shiro’s shoulder. “Shiro… Are you going to stay on Altea? I mean, even after you’re done with the healing pods.”

It was a heavy question that he wasn’t prepared for, though he had been asking himself the same thing for a while now. “I don’t want to leave you.”

But Shiro still had his friends back on Earth, Keith and Pidge. However, Keith was planning on joining the Blade of Marmora, something both his parents had been a part of. And Pidge was sure to be given more job opportunities after this mission, given her incredible intellect.

Everyone he knew was now going their own separate ways. Maybe it’s about time for him to do that as well.

Shiro took Lance’s hand in his and gave it a soft squeeze, leaning in to kiss him on the lips. He pulled away after a second and grinned, gazing at the man he loved so dearly. “Yes. I’ll stay.”

Lance’s eyes widened in disbelief, then _beamed_ like a child on Christmas morning. He threw himself at Shiro, tackling him to the sand and kissing him deeply. When they broke apart, Lance rested his forehead against Shiro’s and smiled.

“There’s that smile.” Shiro whispered. He reached up to tuck some of Lance’s hair behind one of his pointed ears. “I can’t leave if it means leaving that beautiful smile behind.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please consider leaving kudos and a comment if you enjoyed! Check out my Tumblr, [angstyzebra](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/angstyzebra). I take requests there!
> 
> The art for this fic was created by the amazing @belladonna-art [here](https://belladonnaart.tumblr.com/post/180971500971/my-piece-for-the-shanceaubang-i-was-paired-up) and @alyssartblog [here](https://alyssartblog.tumblr.com/post/180967284313/my-piece-for-the-shance-big-bang-shanceaubang) on Tumblr!
> 
> Check out other Shance AU Bang stuff [here](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/shanceaubang)!


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